Review
Immunology
Caixia Ye, Lianhua Zhang, Lili Tang, Yongjun Duan, Ji Liu, Hongli Zhou
Summary: This review analyzes the impact of host genetic factors on parasite adaptation and establishes an interactive network to illustrate the complex relationship between host genetic factors and parasite-host adaptation. In addition, the review discusses future research directions and priorities in the parasite-host adaptation field, highlighting the need for comprehensive and systematic investigation of the underlying mechanisms.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Arne A. S. Adam, Luke Thomas, Jim Underwood, James Gilmour, Zoe T. Richards
Summary: Anthropogenic climate change has caused widespread loss of species biodiversity and ecosystem productivity, particularly on tropical coral reefs. This study explores patterns of genetic offset in the reef-building coral Acropora digitifera across Western Australia using population genetic and seascape analyses. The findings reveal restricted gene flow and limited genetic connectivity among geographically distant reef systems, as well as loci strongly associated with regional temperature variation.
Article
Microbiology
Maria Razzauti, Guillaume Castel, Jean-Francois Cosson
Summary: The study revealed that the genetic diversity of bank voles and PUUV is positively correlated with forest coverage and contiguity of habitats. While the genetic diversity of bank voles was weakly structured in space, that of PUUV showed strong structuring, which has important implications for understanding the distribution and epidemiology of PUUV.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Joana Garrido Nogueira, Manuel Lopes-Lima, Pedro Beja, Ana Filipa Filipe, Elsa Froufe, Duarte Goncalves, Janine P. da Silva, Ronaldo Sousa, Amilcar Teixeira, Simone Varandas, Virgilio Hermoso
Summary: Understanding biotic interactions is crucial for species distribution, ecosystem functioning, and conservation efforts. This study presents a new framework to incorporate biotic interactions into conservation planning using freshwater mussels and fish interaction as a case study. Results show that considering both freshwater mussels and fishes in spatial prioritisation is necessary to accurately represent biotic interactions.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Thomas W. Davies, Oren Levy, Svenja Tidau, Laura Fernandes de Barros Marangoni, Joerg Wiedenmann, Cecilia D'Angelo, Tim Smyth
Summary: Coral broadcast spawning events are crucial for coral reef maintenance and recovery, but artificial light at night disrupts the natural light:dark cycles that synchronize spawning. Analysis of a global dataset shows that light-polluted corals spawn closer to the full moon by 1-3 days compared to those in unlit reefs. This alters the timing of mass spawning, potentially reducing fertilization and survival rates, and hindering reef ecosystem resilience.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Guenole Le Pennec, Cas Retel, Vienna Kowallik, Lutz Becks, Philine G. D. Feulner
Summary: Through experimental research on a host-parasite system, we found that population structure, selection, and their interaction play a crucial role in genetic diversity. Populations that experience both selection and population structure fluctuations have higher genetic diversity, providing empirical support for improving theoretical models of adaptation during host-parasite co-evolution.
Article
Zoology
Ruiwen Wu, Lili Liu, Liping Zhang, Junli Jia, Dandong Jin, Xiaoping Wu, Xiongjun Liu
Summary: This paper reports a new species of freshwater mussel, Pseudocuneopsis yangshuoensis, from Guangxi Province, China. The morphological description, anatomical characteristics, and COI barcode data are provided to support the validity of this novel species. Genetic distance analysis based on the COI barcode shows that P. yangshuoensis differs from its congeners, P. sichuanensis and P. capitata, by 8% and 9%, respectively.
Article
Ecology
Tad A. Dallas, Pedro Jordano
Summary: In this study, the variability in interactor richness across 299 host-helminth networks was examined using a global database of host-helminth interactions. The results showed that a signal of interactor richness conservation was not detected for more than 95% of host and helminth parasite species. Furthermore, a significant taxonomic signal was detected in the divergence of parasite species richness from a null model for host species.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
David M. Rand, Joaquin C. B. Nunez, Shawn Williams, Stephen Rong, John T. Burley, Kimberly B. Neil, Adam N. Spierer, Wilson McKerrow, David S. Johnson, Yevgeniy Raynes, Thomas J. Fayton, Nicholas Skvir, David A. Ferranti, Maya Greenhill Zeff, Amanda Lyons, Naima Okami, David M. Morgan, Kealohanuiopuna Kinney, Bianca R. P. Brown, Anne E. Giblin, Zoe G. Cardon
Summary: Manipulation of host phenotypes by parasites is a strategy for enhancing parasite transmission, and this study found that trematode infection alters the gene expression of its amphipod host, leading to changes in coloration, behavior and immune responses. The study provides new genomic tools and transcriptomic analyses to understand how parasites manipulate host phenotypes.
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Frederic Douhard, Andrea B. Doeschl-Wilson, Alexander Corbishley, Adam D. Hayward, Didier Marcon, Jean-Louis Weisbecker, Sophie Aguerre, Lea Bordes, Philippe Jacquiet, Tom N. McNeilly, Guillaume Salle, Carole Moreno-Romieux
Summary: There are trade-offs between host resistance to parasites and host growth or reproduction due to limited allocation of resources. This study examined the nutritional costs of resistance by selecting sheep with different resistance levels to a common blood-feeding parasite. The study found that high or low resistance had different effects on condition traits and infection traits, particularly during the periparturient period. Furthermore, a cost of resistance on body weight was detected during the first reproduction of ewes.
EVOLUTIONARY APPLICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Moritz Saxenhofer, Anton Labutin, Thomas A. White, Gerald Heckel
Summary: By studying genomic polymorphisms in a natural rodent host, a strong genetic barrier to the transmission of European Tula orthohantavirus (TULV) was identified. The genetic variation explained a significant proportion of clade-specific TULV infections, with associated genes related to immune response and membrane transport functions. This study highlights the importance of natural hybrid zones for understanding evolutionary divergence and detecting evolving genetic barriers for specialized parasites.
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Diogo P. Godinho, Leonor R. Rodrigues, Sophie Lefevre, Laurane Delteil, Andre F. Mira, Ines R. Fragata, Sara Magalhaes, Alison B. Duncan
Summary: This study investigated the genetic and non-genetic correlations between parasite virulence and transmission in Tetranychus urticae. The results showed a positive genetic correlation between virulence and the number of transmitting stages under continuous transmission. However, if transmission occurred only at the end of the infection period, this genetic correlation disappeared and a negative relationship between virulence and the number of transmitting stages was observed, driven by density dependence.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Tom Sistermans, Juliane Hartke, Marah Stoldt, Romain Libbrecht, Susanne Foitzik
Summary: Parasites with complex life cycles can induce phenotypic changes in intermediate hosts to increase transmission to the final host. The consequences of parasite load on transcriptional activity and morphology of the cestode Anomotaenia brevis and its intermediate host, the ant Temnothorax nylanderi, were investigated. The study revealed that heavily infected hosts showed a stronger immune response and fight against oxidative stress, while the cestodes became smaller when competing with other parasites for resources from a single host, indicating shifts in host immune avoidance, starvation resistance, and vesicle-mediated transport.
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Adam M. Cmiel, Tadeusz Zajac, Katarzyna Zajac, Anna M. Lipinska, Kamil Najberek
Summary: The study simulated the impact of mussel spawning frequency on population growth and extinction probability and found that in different fish infestation probability conditions, the single brood strategy performed best in a good scenario, while in adverse conditions, multiple brood strategies were more conducive to long-term population persistence.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Megan A. Hahn, Agnes Piecyk, Fatima Jorge, Robert Cerrato, Martin Kalbe, Nolwenn M. Dheilly
Summary: This study demonstrates that helminths have an impact on the gut microbiome of their host. The microbiome of stickleback fish varies depending on ecoevolutionary variables, such as the genotype of the host and parasite, and the composition of the parasite's microbiome. The study also reveals that the association between the microbiome and immune gene expression increases in infected individuals and varies with parasite genotype. Additionally, it shows that the parasite's microbiome is distinct from its host and affects the host's immune response to infection.